Porthos' Car
by LadyCavil
Summary: Porthos' character described and explored through his car. A companion piece to "Athos' Refrigerator".


Her name is Nina, and she's Porthos' greatest treasure.

Basically she's packed like a Boy Scout's dream vehicle. Within the car Porthos has stashed the ten essentials and then some: pocketknife (truth be told he's got a variety of knives from his Swiss Army Serrated Spartan to what Athos will refer to as Porthos' Rambo knife), a first-aid kit (that does a great deal of expanding once Aramis enters the picture), extra clothing (seriously, there's a duffle bag under the backseat), rain gear (hypothermia: been there, done that, Porthos will _not_ be repeating that one), flashlights (and an army of batteries), food, water, matches (stored properly so they don't get damp), the sun protection (lovingly dubbed the vampire kit, it contains everything from a hat to sunblock with an SPF high enough to defend even the fairest of skin), and the map and compass. Then of course there's his hygiene pack (soap, hand sanitizer, tooth brush and paste, etc.), a fantastic blanket, and very necessary cooking gear.

Day in and day out these items remain safely tucked away in Nina's deep storage spaces. He could live in his car if he needed to. In fact, he'd done so for years until some crazy man (who looked like a drowning cat) spewing a jumbled mess of French and Spanish started banging on the passenger-side window late one rainy and chilly Thursday night in late October. Porthos still isn't sure why he let the guy in.

"Name's Aramis," the stranger said with a manic grin and an outstretched hand.

"Porthos," Nina's baffled yet amused owner responded while finding a towel for the drenched man in his car.

Porthos will always credit Nina for the beginning of that friendship.

Nina's never messy. Well, the car's exterior matters to Porthos, but he won't die if there's a bug's guts smeared all over the windshield or if the paint gets nicked. If the car still runs and he can see to steer, he doesn't really mind. What he really cares about is the inside.

There isn't a single bit of trash floating around. He has a small plastic bag he tosses garbage in, but he empties it every chance he gets.

Everything that belongs in Nina has a place. Porthos doesn't obsess over the organization of it, it just sort of happens. If he pulls something from the glove compartment, it goes back when he's done with it. It's as simple as that.

She's clean and organized but still manages to feel insanely comfortable, friendly, welcoming. Maybe it's the blanket draped over the backseat like one might on a couch; perhaps it's the pillow that inspires a certain level of relaxation. Porthos honestly isn't sure, but he likes it, so he doesn't drive himself crazy trying to figure it out.

Porthos doesn't regret the times when it was just him and Nina. The circumstances changed him, he believes, for the better. Of course it was rough, but he learned so much from it that he will never consider changing that part of his life.

When d'Artagnan joins their company the young man politely suggests Porthos should consider replacing Nina. Porthos only smiles and shakes his head.

Porthos won't part with her because she holds so many memories. Porthos met Aramis in Nina. Plus Nina has literally saved his friends on multiple occasions. One time Athos was in an accident while driving Nina (his own car was in the shop at the time). Athos walked away with a few bruises and slight whiplash, and ol' Nina gained the tiniest dent in the passenger door. The man who ran the red light, the cause of the incident, was seriously injured, and his car crumpled on impact. The police officer who took Athos' statement told Athos that Nina saved his life.

"It's built like a friggin' tank," Athos had been informed. "They just don't make 'em like they used to."

Many a road trip had been taken in Nina, and quite a few of those adventures involved Aramis, Athos, and d'Artagnan being absurdly thankful for Porthos' Boy Scout level of preparedness. One of those times ended in Aramis declaring that, should they ever form a band, they should be called "Nina and the Boy Scouts".

Sometimes Porthos forsakes his spacey apartment for the close comfort of Nina's backseat. On nights like that he needs a reminder of where he came from, needs to remember that his life wasn't always what it became.

The day Nina travels her last mile is a rough one, and Aramis and Athos know Porthos will want to spend that night with her. When Porthos does leave them to crawl into Nina's backseat for the last time, the others watch him go before raising a final toast to Nina, the vehicle that brought them together.

In the morning they present Porthos with a steaming cup o' coffee and take him shopping for the next vehicle of his fate. His next car will never be Nina, he knows that, but he looks forward to the many memories to be made in Nina's successor. He's only worried about the growing list of potential names Aramis and d'Artagnan are creating.

 **A/N: After naming the car Nina and writing the entire piece, I decided to look up the meaning of the name Nina. The American and Native American meaning is "strong" while the Hebrew, English, and Russian meaning is "grace". The English and Russian meaning also includes "favor". In retrospect, it seems fitting that Porthos' car should be named that.**

 **Thanks for reading! :D**


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